In life, we encounter many difficult obstacles which are hard to overcome. One of the hardest of these obstacles is change. Acquiring a new job, getting married and starting a family is a just a few. One of the most stressful transitions in life is moving. Moving comes with it's own challenges and time consuming endeavours. Deciding on a new home can take months, buying new furniture can become expensive, and trusting a moving company to move your personal belongings can be nerve wrecking. But the most time consuming and stressful process during a move is packing. While you may choose to have your professional moving company pack for you, many prefer to do the packing themselves. When packing you must make sure to spend your time organizing your household goods and ensuring the safety in the boxes. Acclaimed Los Angeles Movers & Storage has compiled a list of 10 important packing tips to help you on your move.

1. Build a Secure Box for Moving

Watching a show where somebody picks up a box and all the stuff falls out from the bottom may be funny on TV, but when that happens to you, it can be the most frustrating and stressful feeling. To make a secure box, you must properly fold the bottom flaps and tape the seam shut with three lines of tape going across the box. After you tape the bottom seam, roll another piece of tape that goes around the edges of the box for extra durability. Stuffing the box with newspaper or other stationary material will also make the box extra sturdy. Packing a moving box like this will make sure the box won't rip from the bottom.

2. Pack Boxes by Categories

To make your life easier when unloading your boxes, you should pack each box by categories. For example, you should have a separate box for bathroom supplies and another one for kitchen supplies. You don't want to add silverware where your toothbrush is, this will be confusing. You must also try your best to fill each box to the brim to prevent it from collapsing. After you finish packing each box by its category, make sure to label the category on the box so that you can remember which box is which. You should also label each box with an arrow to indicate which side is up. As a reminder, you can also put different notes on the box, such as “fragile” if the contents of the box are easily breakable.

3. Packing Drawers

The packing process can be a very long one depending on how many bedrooms you need to pack. This is why this tip is a good one to save you some time. If you have stuff in drawers, instead of packing them in boxes, use the drawer as a box itself. Just make sure there is nothing breakable in the drawer and that it is filled up to the top. Then you can seal the drawer with some tape and put with all your other boxes. Very fast and easy.

4. Packing Plates on the Side

You might think that putting plates face down or face up is the safest way. However putting plates on the side of the box will make the plates less likely to break. Fragile items, like plates and glass are easily broken in the truck while moving if not packed correctly. So make sure if you do your own packing, you spent that extra minute with the fragile items. Stuff the boxes with newspaper and other stationary to keep the items compact and unable to move. This will take away any movements in the box that may cause them to break. If you insists on packing your own belongings, you may want to consider hiring a professional moving company to pack only the fragile items so that they can make sure they stay secure and undamaged when they arrive.

5. Packing in Wardrobe Boxes

Using wardrobe boxes for your clothes can also save you a lot of time. A wardrobe box is basically a long box with a rack inside where you can hang your clothes with the hangers. This way you can simply just take your clothes out from your closet and hang it in the wardrobe box. It will be the same easy process when you get to your new home. You will just remove the clothes from the wardrobe box and hang it in your new closet.

6. String Tip When Packing Boxes

A little tip when packing boxes is to attach a piece of string underneath the tape when taping up the upper part of the box. This tip is optional because it does take a little tip when packing the box, but it will save you a lot of time when unloading. All you will need to do is yank that string and it will tear through the tape of the box with ease. This comes in handy if you don't have a box cutter or have difficulties opening boxes.

7. Label Your Boxes When Packing

Imagine when you get to your new home and you just have a bunch of same colored boxes laying around. You wont know which box has what. This can be very frustrating when you just want to find a specific item in a box. This is why labelling is probably the most important thing when it comes to packing. Simply use a permanent marker and label each box that you pack accordingly. For example, if you are looking for a toothbrush, you know to look in the box that is labelled bathroom supplies.

8. Remove Furniture Casters and Picture Hangers

If you don't know what a furniture caster is, it is basically the little wheel or stub that sits under your furniture such as couches. During a move, you would want to remove those furniture casters and tie them up and put them in a bag during the move. The furniture casters are dangerous and can easily be broken during the move. The same things goes for picture hangers. Remove and special screws or hanging devices and put them in a separate bag when packing. This will make your move safer.

9. Pack on Time

Don't wait last minute to pack. Take this from an expert moving company that has done many packing before. If you are not planning on hiring a professional moving company, than make sure you pack in advance. It might seem like you can just do it all in one day, but you'll soon realize that packing is very time consuming and frustrating if you try to do it all at once. You might forget to pack certain things or forget to label certain boxes. It can end up a big mess. So if you don't have the time to pack, you should definitely invest your time in a moving company and/or do some packing yourself over time.

10. Safe Packing

When you are packing your personal belongings into boxes, remember two important things; pack small items in large boxes and large items in small boxes. The reason for this is because, if you stuff a big box with many heavy items, it will be to heavy to carry. So we the smart way to pack is to put the heavy items in a small box so that you are still capable of carrying it. If you put a lot of small items in a big box, chances are that the box will still be light enough for you to carry without throwing your back. This is very important for your own physical health.

As you can see, there is a lot of important guidelines when preparing for a move. Make sure you take your time while packing your items. The worst feeing in moving is to arrive to your new location with broken dishes and/or other personal belongings. Acclaimed Los Angeles Movers is a professional moving company that can always help you with the packing process. Our moving service offers the full package with loading, dismantling, safe delivery, unloading and reassembly. Packing correctly will make an easy and stress free move.